Panama: Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Panama's poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) fell 0.5 percentage points on 2022 (from 22.2% to 21.7%).

Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2022), the average change was −0.98 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.44 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.7 percentage points in 2006 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.6 percentage points in 2010. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 28% of the movement over 9 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

Closest to Panama in the 2023 ranking

• North Macedonia — 1st of 5: 21.9%
• Montenegro — 3rd of 5: 20%
• Serbia — 4th of 5: 19.7%
• Uganda — 5th of 5: 16.1%

What this measures

National poverty headcount ratio is the percentage of the population living below the national poverty line(s). National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys. For economies for which the data are from EU-SILC, the reported year is the income reference year, which is the year before the survey year.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a population-weighted average.

All 19 values

Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 28.2% (2025)
• Bolivia — 44.7% (2025)
• Chile — 6.5% (2022)
• Colombia — 31.8% (2024)
• Costa Rica — 17.1% (2025)
• Dominican Republic — 17.3% (2025)
• Ecuador — 21.4% (2025)
• Jamaica — 7.8% (2024)
• Peru

More poverty data for Panama

• Income share held by second 20% — 8% (2024)
• Income share held by third 20% — 13% (2024)
• Income share held by fourth 20% — 21.1% (2024)
• Income share held by highest 20% — 54.3% (2024)
• Income share held by highest 10% — 37.6% (2024)
• Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%) — 23.2% (2024)
• Income share held by lowest 10% — 1.2% (2024)
• Income share held by lowest 20% — 3.6% (2024)
• Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) — 3.1% (2024)
• Poverty gap at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (%)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Panama's poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population)?

21.7% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is down 16.2 percentage points from 37.9% in 2000. The highest value was 38.3% in 2006 and the lowest 20.7% in 2017.

Is the latest change in poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) unusual for Panama?

In 2023, Panama's poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) fell 0.5 percentage points on 2022 (from 22.2% to 21.7%). Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2022), the average change was −0.98 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.44 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SI.POV.NAHC, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are compiled from official government sources or are computed by World Bank staff using national (i.e. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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